Navigational deflector
Technical Data starship]] The navigational deflector (also called the deflector dish, the deflector array or the nav deflector) is a component of many starships, used to deflect space debris, asteroids, microscopic particles and other objects that might collide with the ship. At warp speed the deflector is virtually indispensable for most starships as even the most minute particle can cause serious damage to a ship when it is travelling at super-light velocities. The deflector commonly takes the form of a dish-shaped force beam generator containing heavy-duty subspace accelerators at the extreme forward end of the vessel's secondary hull. It performs its primary function by emitting low-power deflector shields to deflect microscopic particles and higher-powered deflector beams and/or tractor beams to deflect larger objects. One potential problem of using the deflector is that the deflector beams produced cause a great deal of subspace distortion, which can hinder the effectiveness of a starship's sensors and as a result of this the long-range sensor arrays are placed in a circular fashion around the deflector. Not only does mounting the sensor arrays in this fashion reduce subspace interference by allowing both the sensors and the deflector beams to point on the same axes, it also allows a rapid reception of data which then could allow the computer to scan far ahead for navigational purposes. In the event of combat, the navigation deflector performs as the very first stage of a starship's defences - the deflector can deflect (or at least reduce the damage sustained of) most laser fire and primitive projectile weapons. However, the deflector cannot deflect more complex weaponry such as directed energy weapons or more sophisticated projectile weapons, such as photon torpedoes. Ordinarily, Federation starships are equipped with a single deflector but some starships are known to have more than one deflector, such as the Intrepid class, which has its main deflector located between the extreme forwards of decks 10 through 13 while the secondary deflector is located on the extreme forward of deck 6. The deflector used on Sovereign class starships is charged with antiprotons. This proved to be a potential hazard as particle weapons fire hitting the deflector could destroy much of the ship. (Star Trek: First Contact) :Although the navigational deflector is absent from the Miranda, Constellation and Soyuz classes, it is likely that these classes of starship use a tractor beam (with the emitter mounted on the bow of the ship) to perform similar functions to a deflector. Non-Federation starships that do not have navigational deflectors may employ a similar method as well. Parts of the system *Booster modulator *Collimator *Emitter array *Force beam generator *Induction stabilizer *Maglock Other uses Due to its ability to project a wide variety of energies and particles, the navigational deflector is an extremely versatile piece of equipment. Many starship crews have made one-time modifications to the dish to solve whatever problem they may be facing. Enterprise The navigational deflector of [[Enterprise (NX-01)|''Enterprise]] was modified to emit a positron burst, which disabled Harrad-Sar's ship when it passed through the grappling line of his ship. (ENT: "Bound") The Next Generation '' fires its deflector dish weapon]] The crew of the ''Enterprise''-D used the deflector to channel an extremely large amount of energy at a controlled rate - both as a weapon against a Borg cube in 2366 ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" and "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II") and as an energy source hoping to escape a Tyken's Rift in 2367. ("Night Terrors") Although the energy beam had a greater power output than the ship's complement of weapons, using the deflector for this purpose was extremely impractical and only ever used on two occasions for three reasons: *Channeling such a large amount of energy through the deflector made substantial drains on the ship's power systems, notably from the warp engines. This also meant that the beam could only be fired if the ship was travelling at sublight velocities. *The deflector dish would burn out following the energy beam discharge, requiring extensive repairs, possibly replacement of the deflector altogether. *The high levels of radiation produced by the energy beam require the evacuation of the entire forward half of the secondary hull and the lower three decks of the saucer section of a Galaxy class starship. Also in 2367, the Enterprise-D's deflector was modified to amplify and reflect the subspace frequencies produced by a cosmic string fragment to change the trajectory of a group of two-dimensional beings that threatened to destroy the ship. ("The Loss") Deep Space Nine * Navigational deflectors can also be used to emit graviton pulses. ("Once More Unto the Breach") * In an alternate timeline in early 2372, the [[USS Defiant (NX-74205)|USS ''Defiant]]'s deflector was used to shunt an excess amount of warp energy from the ship's warp core that threatened to destroy the ship in a warp core breach. ("The Visitor")'' * During 2372 the deflector of the Defiant was modified in just ten minutes to perform as a single-shot phaser emitter when the ship was under attack from a Jem'Hadar battleship in the atmosphere of a class J gas giant. Only one shot could be fired with this makeshift phaser emitter as it overloaded with the first shot. ("Starship Down") *In 2374, the Defiant used its nav deflector to fool the numerous orbital weapon platforms defending one of the planets in the Chin'toka system into destroying their own remote power source by projecting a false Federation warp signature onto the power station. ("Tears of the Prophets") Voyager '' emits a resonant graviton beam.]] * In 2371 the crew of the USS Voyager modifed the ship's main deflector to emit a dampening field, along with a Dekyon beam. (VOY: "Parallax") * The transporter signal was boosted on board Voyager by re-routing the transporters directly through the deflector. (VOY: "Non Sequitur") * The ship's main deflector was modified by Seven of Nine to open portal into fluidic space. (VOY: "Scorpion, Part II") Star Trek Movies In 2293, Captains Montgomery Scott and James T Kirk modified the deflector of the Enterprise-B to produce a resonance burst in order to simulate an antimatter explosion when the ship became caught in the Nexus. (Star Trek: Generations) A group of Borg attempted to modify the deflector of the ''Enterprise''-E to perform as an interplexing beacon. (Star Trek: First Contact) de:DeflektorschildCategory:Starship components